What Women Want was a great film featuring an all-star cast. Here’s a look at what the actors and actresses have been up to since.
10 Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson is being Mel Gibson, AKA one of the most popular yet most controversial people in Hollywood. Gibson directed Hacksaw Ridge back in 2016, earning himself an Academy Award nomination for Best Director. Since 2017 he has been credited in three movies – Daddy’s Home 2, Dragged Across Concrete, and The Professor and the Madman. He also has three movies in the works – Boss Level, Waldo, and The Resurrection of the Christ. The latter is a sequel to Gibson’s seminal Passion of the Christ and is scheduled for release in the spring of 2021. Gibson is producing, writing, and directing.
9 Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt played Nick’s co-worker, Darcy McGuire. Hunt returned to television after twelve years to star in the Fox drama Shots Fired, which chronicled the police shooting of a teenager. She also plays Nancy Campbell on BBC One’s World on Fire, which concluded in November of 2019. However, a second series was recently commissioned by the BBC. In 2019, she starred in the movie I See You, and in 2020 she starred as Ethel Bromley in The Night Clerk. She has also done some directing work, having directed an episode of The Politician titled Gone Girl.
8 Marisa Tomei
Playing Nick’s ex-love interest and current coffee shop worker Lola is Marisa Tomei. Tomei remains very active within the entertainment sphere, starring in big-name movies, TV shows, and theatrical productions. For example, in 2019 she played Serafina Delle Rose in a Broadway production of The Rose Tattoo. But perhaps she’s most well known as the modern May Parker, whom she has portrayed in Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
7 Ashley Johnson
Did you know that Ellie was in What Women Want? Well, she was! She played Lola, Nick’s estranged daughter. Ashley Johnson is now one of the biggest names in the voice acting and motion capture industry, and she has lent her voice to countless TV shows and video games.
Her most famous role is that of Ellie in The Last of Us. She is set to reprise her role in The Last of Us Part II, which is set to release on May 29. But seriously, pick an animated show. Chances are, Johnson has provided her voice for it.
6 Alan Alda
Playing Nick’s boss Dan is Alan Alda, an actor forever known as Hawkeye on the seminal M*A*S*H. Despite being in his mid-80s, Alda is still performing at unbelievable speed. In 2015 he appeared in Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, and in 2019 he played goofy lawyer Bert Spitz in Netflix’s acclaimed Marriage Story. He’s also done a lot of TV work between 2018 and 2020, starring as Solomon Waltzer in three episodes of The Good Fight and Arthur Amiot in eight episodes of Ray Donovan.
5 Mark Feuerstein
Playing Morgan Farwell is Mark Feuerstein. He’s obviously not as popular as the legends so far mentioned on this list, but he’s still enjoyed steady work throughout the years. In 2017 he starred in the short film Last Night in Rozzie and earned himself both a Northeast Film Festival and a Philadelphia Independent Film Festival Award for Best Actor. He was also a series regular on the CBS sitcom 9JKL between 2017 and 2018. In 2020 he starred in two episodes in the Starz crime drama Power.
4 Judy Greer
Judy Greer is one of the best character actresses in the biz. You might have seen her in things like 13 Going on 30, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Arrested Development. She’s been incredibly busy as of late, and in 2018 she starred in both Halloween and Ant-Man and the Wasp.
In 2020 she starred in Alan Ball’s Uncle Frank and is set to reprise her role as Karen Nelson in Halloween Kills. She is currently starring as Jill Piccirillo in the Showtime comedy-drama Kidding. Now that’s what we call a busy lineup!
3 Sarah Paulson
Man, does What Women Want have a stacked lineup or what? Of course, no one knew who Sarah Paulson was back in 2000. Back then she was in her mid-20s and her biggest role was that of Merlyn Temple in Sam Raimi’s American Gothic. Of course, Paulson is now one of the biggest stars on television, earning equal popularity and acclaim thanks to her work in the American Horror Story franchise. She has also starred in many recent movies, including Bird Box, Glass, The Goldfinch, and Abominable. Now, who knew Annie would become one of the biggest TV stars of the 2010s?
2 Lauren Holly
Playing Gigi is Lauren Holly, who is perhaps best known as Mary Swanson in Dumb and Dumber. Of course, that role alone shouldn’t define Holly’s expansive acting output. She has appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows throughout the years. In 2019 she appeared in the Canadian film Tammy’s Always Dying. Throughout 2019 she also had a recurring role as Lynn Harper in the ABC/Netflix political thriller Designated Survivor.
1 Bette Midler
Bette Midler made a very small (and uncredited) appearance in What Women Want as Dr. J.M. Perkins. Of course, Bette Midler is one of the most legendary entertainers of all time and needs no introduction. But did you know that she is still working? In 2019 she provided the voice of Grandmama in The Addams Family and in 2020 starred as Bella Abzug in the biographical film The Glorias. She is also crushing it on stage (as she always does), and she recently concluded a Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! And wouldn’t you know it, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
